Chapter 205: The Silly Sweet One is Back Again

Several people did not quite understand.

Liu Zheng chuckled.

In truth, the moment he heard about this Ghost Army, he felt it was complete nonsense. If the people of the Western Regions could truly command ghosts and spirits, they would have swallowed up the Longyan Dynasty long ago.

Therefore.

This was something man-made!

That legendary Ghost Army—the one that appeared and disappeared, descended from the heavens, and emerged from a Ghost City—was simply a hoax to fool people.

Liu Zheng could explain it using the scientific knowledge of later generations.

They were a group of people who were good at using mirages!

It was a natural phenomenon produced by utilizing unique geographical environments and temperatures. Mirages often appear on the sea and in deserts.

It is the result of light being refracted through air layers of different densities in the vertical direction. There are many types of mirages; according to their position relative to the original object, they can be divided into superior mirages, inferior mirages, and lateral mirages; according to their symmetry with the original object, they can be divided into upright, lateral, direct, and inverted mirages; and according to color, they can be divided into chromatic and achromatic mirages, and so on.

Since ancient times, mirages have attracted the attention of the world. In Western mythology, mirages were depicted as the incarnation of the devil, a bad omen of death and misfortune. In our country's ancient times, mirages were seen as fairylands; Qinshihuang and Emperor Wu of Han once led people to Penglai to seek out fairylands, and even sent people to Penglai many times to search for elixirs of immortality. Modern science has already provided a correct explanation for most mirages, considering them to be virtual images formed by the refraction of light reflected from objects on Earth through the atmosphere; so-called mirages are simply optical illusions.

Mirages are closely related to geographical location, physical conditions of the Earth, and the meteorological characteristics of those places at specific times. Abnormal temperature distribution is the meteorological condition for the formation of most mirages. Desert mirages, desert mirages.

Take the formation of an inferior mirage, for example. In the summer, the scorching sun hangs over the desert, and the sand is baked until it is burning hot. Because the specific heat of sand is small, its temperature rises extremely quickly. The temperature of the lower layer of air near the sand rises very high, while the temperature of the upper layer of air remains low, thus forming an abnormal temperature distribution. Due to thermal expansion and contraction, the lower layer of hot air near the sand has a low density, while the upper layer of cold air has a high density; thus, the refractive index of the air is lower in the lower layer and higher in the upper layer.

When light reflected from a taller object in the distance enters the lower, thinner air from the upper, denser air, it is continuously refracted. Its angle of incidence gradually increases, and when it increases to equal the critical angle, total internal reflection occurs. At this time, if a person looks against the reflected light, they will see an inferior mirage.

The "mirage" that occurs in the desert is a refraction phenomenon that appears when sunlight encounters air of different densities. In the desert, the sand and stones are scorched by the sun during the day, and the air temperature on the surface of the sand layer rises rapidly. Because air has poor heat conductivity, when there is no wind, the vertical temperature difference above the desert is very significant—hot below and cold above—with the upper air having high density and the lower air having low density. When sunlight enters the low-density air layer from the high-density air layer, the angle of the light changes; through the refraction of light, the distant oasis is presented before people's eyes.

Liu Zheng tried his best to use concise and comprehensive language to teach these theories to the few people.

Who would have thought...

They were still listening in a daze.

Jiang Xuan blinked: "Young Master, do you mean that this Ghost Army was deliberately created by someone?"

Liu Zheng smiled: "Yes!"

He continued: "I think there are two such possibilities. First, this is an army that has been stationed in a specific location for a long time... They built a place similar to a Ghost City somewhere outside this desert, and then they would often appear in the eyes of passersby in the form of a mirage."

The crowd looked at each other in dismay.

Although Qingyang Shuo was far-sighted, he did not know much about this technology from later generations, so he followed up curiously: "Young Master, can this kind of mirage be artificially created?"

Liu Zheng smiled and said: "That is why I say this person must be a genius of the current age! He should not only be utilizing Astronomy and Geography, but also have other exquisite layouts; this Ghost City is just one of them!"

Qingyang Shuo also took a deep breath and smiled bitterly: "No wonder Xie Tianyao's army of five hundred thousand was completely wiped out. Those who generally do not understand these things would indeed be scared silly."

Liu Zheng laughed out loud: "If this is the only reason for the destruction of the Emperor's five hundred thousand troops, then we can trample the Western Regions!"

The crowd's morale was greatly boosted upon hearing this.

Just at this moment, Liu Zheng suddenly said excitedly, pointing a finger at the desert hills not far ahead of the Cement Road: "Look quickly, a mirage, a mirage!"

No one had expected it.

It was such a coincidence.

Liu Zheng had just spoken of a mirage, and a mirage appeared.

One could see that where the desert met the sky, it was vast and boundless, with twilight drifting; above those layers of clouds, one could vaguely see various buildings, pagodas, Temples, streets...

Although not clear, they were yet clear.

Everyone was stunned.

Liu Zheng was also very excited; the probability of something like a mirage appearing is actually quite low. There are many conditions that need to be met, and being able to encounter it on the road this time was truly a blessing from the heavens. If that army of five hundred thousand from the Longyan Dynasty had encountered this mirage earlier back then, they might not have been defeated so miserably.

Jiang Xuan gave the order for the entire army to halt and quietly observe the mirage.

The one hundred and fifty thousand troops were also exclaiming in wonder.

Masterpiece of nature!

Beautiful and magnificent!

Unbelievable!

The entire army praised and pointed.

Qingyang Shuo laughed loudly: "Heaven protects our Yinzhou army!"

"Heaven protects the Yinzhou army!"

"Heaven protects Yinzhou!"

In fact, in ancient rumors, this mirage was an ominous sign, foretelling death. But today, after Liu Zheng's explanation, everyone understood that being able to figure out what this mirage was in advance gave them a few more chances of victory for when they encountered that Ghost Army in the future.

Liu Zheng also smiled: "Loulan is not far ahead now."

The crowd was overjoyed to hear this.

They had already been walking on the Cement Road for three days, and it seemed that in another three days, they would reach Loulan. Liu Zheng found this entire journey somewhat unbelievable; the speed of paving the Cement Road over this thousand-mile distance was actually so fast—only about five months had passed, and about half was already paved.

The labor force of the ancient people really could not be underestimated.

Even without the modern machinery of later generations, they could still burst forth with powerful combat strength.

Otherwise, where would the Great Changcheng come from, and where would the pyramids come from?

With the Cement Road and the planting of poplars, the wind and sand along this road had lessened quite a bit, and the army gathered together without the disarray of the first time they walked through this desert.

"Let's go, enter Loulan!"

"Enter Loulan!"

Three days later.

Loulan finally appeared before the eyes of the army, and everyone was overjoyed.

"This, isn't this the town from the mirage?"

"My god, it's exactly the same!"

"Look quickly, back then, I said that was a three-story building, and there were even Loulan Beauties!"

The entire army was shocked, once again believing in Liu Zheng without a doubt.

Shancheng, finally arrived.

Liu Zheng recalled his disheveled appearance the first time he came to Loulan and couldn't help but smile. Right here, he had met Xiang Chenglin.

And today, the one who had come from afar to welcome Liu Zheng was still Xiang Chenglin.

And...

As soon as Liu Zheng saw Reguli, who was dressed in glittering gold, with a graceful figure and eyes shining, rushing over like a madwoman, he clutched his forehead and sighed, feeling a massive headache.

Accompanying her was Halike, who was already the Loulan King.

"Protector of the State!"

"Greetings to the Protector of the State!"

"Lord Protector of the State!"

The crowd of Loulan civil and military officials still came over one after another to pay their respects.

Jiang Xuan watched, feeling incredibly excited.

Liu Zheng felt he had plenty of face. He gave a dry cough: "Liu Zheng pays respects to the Loulan King, pays respects to the Empress Dowager..."

Reguli had already hopped over joyfully, immediately linking her arm with Liu Zheng's, and laughed: "Young Master Liu, why be so polite with Reguli! You bad man, it's been so long, and you didn't even send a letter..."

The entire army was stunned.

Qingyang Shuo averted his eyes, refusing to look at anything improper.

Qin Zhangfeng held back his laughter.

Jiang Xuan also held his breath until his face turned bright red.

Legend had it that this Empress Dowager of Loulan had fallen for our young master at first sight, and that she was a bold, beautiful widow; seeing her today, it was truly no exaggeration.

That exotic charm of hers made a whole group of men look on with burning eyes.

Liu Zheng gave a wry smile: "Empress Dowager, it has been a long time; I have... I have indeed missed you quite a bit."

Who would have thought that at just this polite remark, Reguli almost jumped up: "Did you hear that? The young master said he missed me!"

The Loulan civil and military officials lowered their heads one after another, unable to bear looking.

What a great tragedy for the nation...

What a lack of decorum!

Loulan is now a great power known across the four seas; how can you make us face this!

Reguli suddenly said happily: "Young Master, before, Reguli said that I would hand this kingdom over to Halike to manage, and you and I would travel the mountains and seas together. I originally thought there would be no chance... This time, I will accompany you on the expedition to the Northern Western Regions, how about that?"

"What did you say?"

Liu Zheng was startled.

He looked blankly at the Loulan crowd, who still could not bear to look.

Reguli waved her jade hand, and behind her, the fifty thousand Loulan troops stood in perfect unison.

"Greetings to the Empress Dowager!"

"Greetings to the Protector of the State!"

Everyone.

Was shocked.

Qingyang Shuo turned his head for the first time to look at this exceptionally excited, naive, and sweet Reguli.

He couldn't help but smile slightly.

This woman is not simple.

【Author's Note】

Continue, continue, come and stimulate me with more tips.